Packing In As Much Info As Possible

My 16 year old son and 15 year old daughter have both had to write research papers this school year. Being the all-knowing computer guru that I am (at least in their eyes) they turned to me for help in finding the sources that were required. Only three sources could be online but Mom knows how to find stuff online that we can later retrieve from our local library. {Go Mom!}

I shared with my kids a site that I hope they’ll use on their own (if they can pull away from MySpace long enough). In fact, I instructed them to bookmark RefDesk because it’s one of the oldest and still useful portal sites online. I know, here I go again with a site from the mid-90s. I love a lot of the newer sites (and I was lost the other day when Twitterfox stopped working) but when a site stands the test of time and still works well, it’s deserving of a mention. Refdesk is just such a site.

As much as I’d like to list all the bits of information you can find here, that just isn’t possible. I could do entire blog with a post every day for a year and still not cover it all. To get a feel for the site, just check out the options in the three drop down boxes at the top right of the page. Or scroll down slowly and check out all the information on the main page. Yes, a little ajax-y goodness could make the site more Web 2.0 but that’s a minor flaw. The site is about providing information and it does just that. I know there are more modern desk reference sites but I can’t think of one that puts so much information right at your fingertips.

Refdesk.com is a free service but it does cost money to run and maintain. If you find it as useful as I do, please consider making a donation or at least blogging about the site so others will learn of it and possibly donate to it. Such a useful site that’s been online since 1995 really deserves to live on. This is truly a keeper!